The Ultimate Process
by Chilimydog
Summary: Everyone knows the story of Gerald and Maria Robotnik and their connection with Shadow The Hedgehog. However, how did the growing process of The Ultimate Lifeform take place? How did his relationship with the Professor and his granddaughter, as well as the isolated scientific testing in space, shape him into the being we know today?
1. Chapter 1

**(AN: Hey! This is a Sonic fanfiction that is written purely for fun. I apologize for any errors that come. This is a Shadow origin-ish story, ma more in depth look on how he grew in the SCA. I wanted to do this due to reading some fics as a kid and never really being satisfied- like the stories needed a little *umph* of detail. This is rated T for any scientific violence or graphic imagery. Thank you!)**

 **The Ultimate Process: Chapter One**

 _Wrapped in Black Arms_

 _I suppose this is will be an even trade?_

 _I suppose so._

 _When will we see progress in the project, Professor?_

 _Soon enough. You will be greatly satisfied in the least. Let me get my dirty work done. There's a lot to do before any conclusions or theories are made on behalf of immortality's sake. After that, you are free to do whatever you want with the research._

 _We assure you that leading this project on will be in your favor. Imagine it. Society finding cures for cancer, diseases. It goes on. All based on your brilliant brain! The Nobel's got your name on it._

 _I admit, it sounds too good to be true._

 _Aliens used to sound that way too until they walked up to our solar system, huh?_

 _You got me there._

 _What are you naming this "project", Doc?_

 _ **The Ultimate Lifeform.**_

Hours upon hours of research passed so easily away in the lab. Science used to be wondrous and eye-opening to the professor. Now it seemed like endless data files in endless files in endless hallways that were physical layers away from endless space. The darkly-lit pulsing tones of the vertical-standing incubated tub in the middle of the room made the professor zone off into inner monologues.

 _All this research done. What if the specimen just died before I woke for the next day? What if it's a vegetable? I never expected to have to study the genome of an intergalactic being before. What if I was wrong? What if the government punishes me for failing on the research and casts me to become some recluse away from my family? My Maria, without my help, forced to decay in her own body...Oh Gerald stop it. They wouldn't give you this position if they didn't believe you capable in the first place._

Gerald Robotnik had these ruminating thoughts in his mind for some time now. Creating life like Frankenstein was impossible! Of course, the medical field in the Space Colony Ark with the professor didn't build their subject with used human. The fertilized zygote was made with the haploid gamete contained within an alien's blood. The race of aliens called themselves the Black Arms. Their leader, Black Doom, was tested on their body physique. So strange, it was. Like some weird Dune storyline, the Black Arms used their blood for the fertilization of the egg! Their DNA were also odd. We had to find an animal that fit their chromosome build-up…

Gerald rubbed his eyes cleaned his glasses on his lab coat. The room was dark to prevent any harm to the specimen. Recreating a womb for such an important organism was crucial for its growth. It grew so big through the months, never once moving from its position in the tub. Eyes shut tight, arms to the sides on itself like a wooden doll. Very… unhuman. It almost reminded the professor of a dead rat inside a tub of formaldehyde. The liquid even looked similar. Gross.

Robotnik played with his mustache to stay awake. He tried looking at the satellites and stars, but after so many days of seeing it… You really can get tired of a view like this.

Slowly but surely, the professor fell asleep next to an empty mug of phantom coffee. His face pressed against a pile of research papers. He was knocked out due to fatigue. Constant recording and analyzing can be exhausting.

So exhausting, you fall asleep and don't wake up to the electrocardiograph monitor on the tub beep.

Gerald awoke to the splash of incubated sludge slapping the ground and his arm. With a gasp, he stood and saw his scientific masterpiece on the ground.

The room was dim, yes, but he could see it perfectly. Fully grown, but still fragile. Long quills, sharp nails, dark in color.

 _I need to get assistance_.

The professor thought of ringing his colleagues, or even sounding an alarm. But he just stood there, and eyed his creation. The sound of a sliding door opened to the right of him, and a young blonde girl peeped out from it.

"I heard broken glass," the young being whispered. It was obvious she was very tired. "Is everything alright, Grandfather? Do you need me to grab a new waste disposal can?" She walked in to see the being on the floor and her eyes widened. "It's finished synthetically gestating!"

 _Attagirl. I knew I raised you right_. Gerald tried to contain his smile for his grandchild's intelligent observation but held it in for professionalism. He would soon have to wake up his colleagues. Or, he could plan something else.

"Maria, Darling. We have to be very quiet and get it cleaned up. Can you get a bath started down the hall, please?"

"Of course, grandfather!"

"Quiet, now."

" _Of course_ , opps." She grinned and rubbed her eyes, in a fashion like his own, and walked down to her dorm's bathroom.

Maria, being the granddaughter of Gerald, had the advantage of getting a living space in the Ark near her grandfather's living quarters and lab. There was also the reason of necessary closeness, in case she grew too weak due to an immune disease she was diagnosed with at her young age. How innocent she was, how pure.

"Thank you, sweetheart." he said. She however, was probably already getting the water ready.

Gerald picked up the once wooden-like being into his arms. It was silent and almost lifeless. Sudden dread went over the doctor's body. The lifeform was not breathing oxygen, and was still covered in a coating of coagulated fluid. He quickly grabbed gloves from the lab with a sparing finger and rushed to his granddaughter.

"We need to make sure he is breathing before we clean him thoroughly. Grab me a washcloth, please."

Gerald sat down with his back resting on the filling tub. He placed the alien-earth hybrid on his lap. He was growing pale. With a quick movement of handwork, he got his gloves on and grabbed the white cloth from his granddaughter with gratitude. He gently wiped the face of his creation, cleaning the nostrils and mouth, then wiping the eyes. He dipped the corner of the cloth with warm tub water and overlaid his movements to assure he got as much fluid off of its breathing space.

"It's not breathing, is something wrong?" Maria said, worryingly.

"Not yet." Robotnik replied, setting the creature gently on the flat ground.

The creature grew more pale.

"Let me grab some tools from the lab."

Maria stood alone with the suffocating creature. She couldn't bear the sight of its color fading away. She grabbed the cloth and gently dabbed the mouth and nostrils again then around the whole face until the creature heaved its chest with a tremendous gasp. Liquid spritzed around the room as the being coughed repeatedly. Air was painful to its young lungs. The eyes opened, red and beautiful. They searched the corner of the room and sat up in a stressed frenzy.

The stiff arms and legs frantically scrambled around the bathroom, slipping and stumbling. Maria did not know what to do at that moment. She only knew what she wanted to do. She grabbed the creature in a calm yet firm and assertive hug. It clinged back to her like a magnet. She was warm and did not pose a threat.

" _Shhhh. Shhhhh_." She cooed, patting the lifeform gently, then continued to wipe the slimy gunk off its quills. Maria heard its heartbeat thumping like an engine, eventually slowing down.

Gerald entered back with a case of medical tools to see the ultimate lifeform breathing, awake, and alive. Clinging to its life on his granddaughter, it looked like an overlay shadow on her. He grinned. Softly, to prevent the disturbance of its first moments outside the incubation, he said "Can you make sure he stays warm after his bath?"

Maria turned to face her grandfather and gently chuckled. "Yes, grandfather."

"Good. I have to clean up the lab. I'll be back."

Maria heard the door shut gently. The quilled creation still held tight to her, gently breathing. She rocked him bath and forth, cooing him with shushes again.

She had to stop and get on with the bath, however, when she felt the overflowing tub water touch her feet.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thank you so much for the feedback! Finally got back to writing this fun story. A little slow this chapter, but I plan for the pace and timing to go a lot faster to get to more developments of Shadow, Maria, Gerald, etc. Thank you!**

" _The Ultimate Lifeform will be a step up from the previous attempts of creating a god like, immortal organic organism. The data recorded so far has shown way more successful than prototype one-the FinalHazard."_

" _Figure the name came after it became dangerous?"_

" _Yes. The first prototype was deemed successful when it came to superior living. However, it was very unstable."_

" _Were you able to terminate the specimen?"_

" _You know no man-not even a doctor-can kill something made to be immortal."_

" _What_ _ **could**_ _kill it?"_

" _Good question."_

Through vigorous scrubbing and rinsing, the quilled being was finally clean. The bathtub had a defined ring of brown gunk as the watered-down incubation fluids went down the drain. Maria grabbed as many towels as she could from a cabinet and sat them down on the sink corner in a neat pile. She eyed the clean creature every few moments as she rinsed her hands to scrape any excess black sludge inside her fingernails.

The creature was roughly more than three feet in height. It had black and red quills all over the body. Red eyes like the most furious crimson fire to ever combust. A little tuft of white fur laid on the chest. He was a… _Hedgehog?_ Some Intergalactic hybrid of a hedgehog! Maria saw pictures of them in picture books she read when she was younger, but she never saw one in real life. She figured they'd be smaller, be more...earthly. The creature sitting in the empty tub did _not_ look like your typical Earth hedgehog. Nonetheless, it was a living thing, dripping water in the empty basin with subtle _plops_. The eyes were the thing Maria couldn't help but look at due to the fact they were fixated on her. They looked terrified, wide and anxious about the surroundings around them. Exhaustion was another noticeable feature, but was subdued by fear. It was if they were calling Maria back for them to be held within her warmth, alike that of a newborn human. The hedgehog _was_ a newborn in terms, but was in no way the size of one. It was also the newborn to soon grow as the Ultimate Lifeform that Maria's grandfather had worked so hard on. An Immortal being capable of doing anything. A deity to show the world peace and well being. Or, terror all around. So much power in one's hands… it can easily be targeted for the better or worse… Time could only tell how events take their place.

Maria finished scrubbing her hands and ruminating on the topic of alien-bred zoology. After turning off the sink, she grabbed the first towel in the pile and walked over to the black hedgehog. With gentle hands she draped it on the floor and picked the creature up from the tub and laid him down. Grabbing another cloth, she then began drying the ears of the hedgehog. She kept rubbing until the hairs fluffed up, then continued down to the back and arms. Once the chest was dry, the white tuft of hair poofed out like a cloud. Maria giggled- it was as if a luxurious white Persian cat sat on his bosom. Within a minute she wiped the hedgehog's face, hands, and feet squeaky clean. She concluded the job by wrapping the hedgehog up in the remaining towels, leaving only his face peeping out. The Hedgehog snuggled into the heap, his eyelids drooping down to the comfortable warmth.

Maria was more than satisfied with her drying skills. However, she didn't have the energy to feel proud over towel wrapping. She was tired from the lack of sleep and sudden work of taking care of such an important life. Such responsibility that she had taken required too much brain power to realize that moment. She yawned with a wide open mouth and scratched her head, thinking. _How long will Grandpa be? Should I wait?_ The hedgehog answered for her by repeating her long yawn. She saw two little tiny fangs in his mouth, smacking his chops before he shrunk further more into the mountain of towels.

Before he could sink into the bowels of the terrycloth, Maria scooped the hedgehog up in her arms. With a little fidgeting, she managed to get the door open that led out of the bathroom into the hallway. She carried the wrapped load with care, making sure her walking pace didn't startle him. She felt his heartbeat through the cloths, a rhythmic symphony with her footsteps. _Pit-pat, pit-pat._ Such a crucial heart that must keep on beating. It would be heartbreaking to Dr. Robotnik if his creation just…rejected the outside world and passed. All the hard research, all the work, it would be devastating. Maria brushed off the negative thoughts. She was just tired. Optimism was key. The Lifeform would live, and age, and learn and love. She wanted to watch him grow up since day one of his conceivement.

Maria reached her dorm room and struggled a bit to open the door. She wanted to go through without discomforting the hedgehog. With a nudge of her shoulder, it creaked open and revealed her bedroom. Inside was comfortable queen-sized bed, which was a bit wild with its sheets due to Maria waking up. To the right side of the mattress stood a light blue dresser, balancing a mirror, brush, and glass of what used to be cold water. The ice had melted and left a ring of water around its container. Next to the Mirror stood a little lamp, which was dim. To the left of the bed was a window that revealed the outside of the ship. Unlimited stars sprinkled over darkness, like a rain of glitter on top of an abyss.

Maria smiled at the sight of her bed. She didn't realize how truly exhausted she was until she grabbed the hedgehog. Her whole body felt weak and lethargic. She plopped the ball of quills onto the bed, and began to unravel the towel she draped previously on him. He watched her attentively. His little nose was the first to be revealed, his eyes still searching in fear and confusion. _What should I do?_ Maria thought. _Perhaps coo him some more, talk maybe?_

"You must be very tired," Maria started off softly, looking at the black shadow in front of her. She smiled. "I am tired too. Sleep might be good for both of us." She figured he was tired like most newborns. After they cry, they sleep in a warm environment. She figured that was the case and began to drape the sheets around him. There was a flinch to the new sensation on his quills. Maria giggled. "Don't worry. These won't hurt you. Here, I'll show you myself!" She stood near he was and wrapped herself up in a soft blue blanket. She looked somewhat like a happy babushka, her blonde hair poking out of the blue cloth. She smelled the faded clean scent of detergent leave her face as she gently layered it onto the hedgehog among the first sheet. It appeared he was breathing steadily as he began to once again doze off. Maria placed the dampened towels in a corner of her room and then grabbed the blankets that laid limply on the edge of her bed. With a flourish, she flapped them up to the air and nicely fluffed them to become organized onto the mattress. From thin sheets to fluffy comforter blankets, Maria slipped into her favorite spot on her bed and prepared to wrap the creature next to her within the warmth of the multitudinous layers. She felt warm clawed hands grab for her arm under the piles and nearly gasped. The hands pulled until she witnessed the red eyes pop out of the blankets and stare at her once again. "Oh! You want me to hold you? Like I did in the bathroom?" She doubted he understood, but watched as he slowly inched towards her side of the bed. She stretched an arm out to have it quickly weighted by the black head. She then wrapped her other arm on top of the hedgehog, swaddling him in a tight hug. The red eyes slowly dimmed their fires, and shut. The hands clung onto Maria firmly, yet the lungs slowed into calm breaths of deep sleep. Eventually, Maria's blue eyes closed as well, as she slept in a pool of her blonde hair and black quills.

Gerald slowly opened Maria's door with a metal cart carrying various medical items and utensils: An IV, a bag of intravenous fluids, needles and vials for blood testing, and so forth. Pushing the cart into the room, he saw the two bodies bundled up in the blankets. The professor was amazed, the Ultimate Lifeform was bonding better than he expected it to. With his experience with the creature's alien relatives, he was concerned it would reject any affection from humankind. He sighed in relief to himself. He had just cleaned up most of the fluids in the lab, most of it had coagulated into murky blobs, and gave an acrid odor. He then wrote his observations and placed them into his files, and prepped the mild physical tests for his creation. He had to check his blood, give him the necessary nutrients in order to stay healthy, and check on his granddaughter. After endless nights of research, trial and error, and stress, he finally succeeded with the first step of his project of a lifetime. It was the beginning of a long journey of raising the Ultimate Lifeform. He watched as it laid sleeping next to the angelic girl, like a shadow to her at all times.


End file.
